Read Empire: Book 2, The Chronicles of the Invaders (The Chronicles of the Invaders Trilogy) for Free Online

them to see—a full Sisterwhere a Novice stood, for instance—and perhaps they were careless about shielding themselves from her. And indeed, why should they be on their guard with Dessa when she was one of the inner circle, one of their own?
    Yes, it was definitely unsettling.
    •  •  •
    As for Syl, as far as the Sisterhood was aware, she was not special like Ani, for Syl had no powers at all. Yes, Syl and Ani had been seized together by the Sisterhood, tricked into becoming Novices by the Archmage Syrene, but only Ani had a gift that could be developed and used by the order. As for Syl, her father was a great Military leader and the Military were known to distrust the Sisterhood, so securing the daughter of Lord Andrus was something of a coup for the Nairenes. She was treated as a trophy, for display only, and that was where her usefulness began and ended.
    The Sisterhood was wrong, though. Syl had power beyond its imagining, and she was being very careful to keep it hidden. Not even Ani guessed, nor did Althea. Syl was a psychic with depths of potential that she barely comprehended herself.
    But Syl knew she had to hone her strengths, so she routinely cross-questioned Ani about her extra lessons, and Ani was always eager to chat because her own psychic awakening was at once exciting and terrifying, so what she was learning—or trying to learn—spilled out of her in a stream of words. Ani had never considered herself exceptional before, and her gift had always been a source of unease. She had kept it hidden for most of her life, afraid of what might happen if it were discovered, fearful that she was, as she put it, “a freak.” But the Sisterhood embraced her, and told her that her abilities made her special, made her extraordinary. Ani was encouraged, celebrated even, and she reveled in the special attention she received as one of the Gifted.
    So Syl listened to her friend rambling on excitedly, drinking in every breathless word, and privately she practiced all that Ani was being taught about focusing her powers, about control, repeating the exercises over and over while the Marque rested, building up inner protective walls so that her abilities wouldn’t be detected by the Nairenes.
    The grizzled Sister who was in charge of all the Novices, Grandmage Oriel, was particularly sensitive to psychic ability. Syl had felt Oriel testing her when she and Ani had first arrived at the Marque, probing for any signs of power. It had been all that Syl could do to remain passive, but she believed that Oriel had been fooled, for the old crone appeared to have shown no further interest in Syrene’s latest acquisition. It was Ani who interested Oriel, and that was fine with Syl. Well, kind of fine, because it meant Ani spent many hours with Tanit and the Gifted, and many hours away from her Syl.
    A distance was growing between them and it frightened Syl, for without Ani she stood alone and friendless in the Marque.

CHAPTER 6
    T he Tormic atmosphere was a reasonably sweet mix of mostly oxygen and carbon dioxide, but the heat of it still scorched Paul’s nose and throat as he left the shuttle. His thermally regulated suit instantly began cooling his body, but the system didn’t work as well with helmets, and sweat was already leaking into his eyes. A breeze created ghosts from the sand, as though the grains were fleeing from him. Thula stood at Paul’s back, each mirroring the movements of the other, turning, scanning, their eyes fixed to the sights of their weapons. Both had activated the lens over their right eye, the small circle offering details of wind speed, distances, sources of movement—anything that might give them an advantage if it came to trouble.
    Now, with the weight of the gun in his hands, Paul felt as though every nerve in his body, every synapse in his brain, was functioning at its highest level. They had no way of knowing what, if anything, had happened at the drilling platform. It was possible, Paul